Captain America

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Joe Simon with a man in Captain America costume at New York Comic Con 2006

Captain America is an American cartoon character , a superhero who wears a costume in the colors of the flag of the United States . It was created by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon for Timely Publications , a predecessor of what is now Marvel Comics . Captain America first appeared in issue 1 of the Captain America Comics series in 1941 . The comic stories, laid out as propaganda during wartime , often made Captain America compete against Nazis , saboteurs and other symbols of the opponents of the war. In later years the stories with Captain America were used by many authors for social criticism, but reception is difficult, especially in Germany. Over the years, characters with different names appeared in Captain America's costume. The original and best-known figure bears the name Steve Rogers as an alter ego .

Fictional background

Steve Rogers as Captain America

Actor in a Captain America costume at an event in the USA

The story of the origins of Captain America was first described in Captain America Comics # 1 from 1941, the first appearance of the character: The original wearer of the name and costume of Captain America is an American named Steven Grant Rogers (from other characters mostly “Steve " called). Although he is retired at the beginning of World War II , he still wants to serve his country. So he volunteers for a government experiment. A secret "super soldier serum" (called Infinity Formula Serum) is supposed to help ordinary people achieve maximum physical performance. Although the experiment is a success, the scientist responsible is killed by a Nazi spy , which is why Steve remains the only super soldier in the end. Equipped with a costume in the colors of the American national flag, he becomes Captain America and as such fights for his country against the war opponents as well as their spies and saboteurs. In addition to his costume, Captain America wears a shield that can be used both for defense and as a throwing weapon. The best-known of these shields, which was first used in issue 2 of Captain America Comics , consists of an alloy with the fictional metal vibranium (some authors also mention the almost indestructible, likewise fictional metal adamantium as a component). He is supported by a young man named James Buchanan Barnes, who becomes Steve's partner under the name "Bucky".

After the war, Captain America made other appearances, but Marvel later stated that different people had worn the costume in each of these stories. Steve Rogers returned officially in Volume 4 of the comic book series The Avengers (dt. Name The Avengers ) from 1964 back. It turns out that Steve has been trapped in the ice of the Arctic since fighting just before the war ended . The serum in his blood put him into cold sleep , which is why the Avengers are able to bring Steve back to life. Steve then joins the Avengers and takes on the role of team leader for many decades. At the same time, however, he has to get used to living in an unfamiliar time due to his long absence. Over the years, Marvel has shifted the older stories from the "Silver Age" time and again, so that Steve's find by the Avengers is always about a decade before the current "present".

In issue 25 of the now fifth comic series titled Captain America , published in 2007, Steve Rogers is apparently shot by an assassin , whereupon his former partner Bucky becomes the new Captain America. This is neither the first time another character wears the costume, nor the first time the "death" of Steve Rogers is at the center of the plot. Even since it was revealed from issue 600 that Rogers was not killed but was traveling through time and his return to the present, Bucky kept the role of Captain America. Rogers got his own series as "Agent Steve Rogers" and joined the Secret Avengers . However, after Bucky was forced to go undercover and re- assumed his former identity as Winter Soldier , Rogers became Captain America again in 2011. From autumn 2014 Sam Wilson aka Falcon will slip into Captain America's costume, as Rogers is dying.

Steve Rogers in other costumed identities

In Captain America and the Falcon # 180 (1974), Steve Rogers, disappointed by the US government, temporarily gives up his identity as Captain America, changes his costume and calls himself Nomad from then on . In issue 184 (1975), however, he became Captain America again, while the nomad's identity was later taken over by a man named Jack Monroe.

In the 1980s, as a result of a conflict with the US government, which increasingly wanted control over his actions, Steve again gave up his identity, put on a new costume and called himself The Captain from then on , while a man named John Walker ( formerly known as Super Patriot ) became the new Captain America. After it turned out that this change had been initiated by Captain America's archenemy Red Skull, Walker's costume and name returned to Steve Rogers in Captain America # 350 (1989).

Other characters in the costume of Captain America

In Captain America and the Falcon # 153–156 (1972), author Steve Englehart, following a suggestion from then Marvel Editor-in-Chief Roy Thomas, retrospectively stated that Captain America, who appeared in the stories from 1953 and 1954 occurred to have acted as a con man. The man's real name was never revealed because, according to the story, he had his name changed to "Steve Rogers". In Captain America # 232 (first series, 1979) he returned under the new name Grand Director as an opponent for the real Steve Rogers. With this reveal, Englehart not only explained the contradiction between the appearances of Captain America in the 1950s and the reveal from The Avengers # 4 (first series, 1964) that Steve Rogers had been in cold sleep since 1945, but also the differences in that Characterization of Captain America of the 1950s, portrayed as a communist hunter ("Commie Smasher"), and of the more politically liberal Steve Rogers of later years.

A story from What If? # 4 (first series, 1977) also revealed that Captain America, who appeared in stories from 1945 to 1950, was two men named William Naslund (installed by then-US President Harry S. Truman ) and Jeff Mace (who replaced Naslund, who had fallen in battle) acted. Although the story actually took place in an alternate reality, both Naslund and Mace were later confirmed for the "regular" Marvel universe, Naslund in the Captain America Annual # 6 (1982) and Mace in Captain America # 285 (first series, 1983). Naslund had previously appeared in The Invaders # 14 (first series, 1977) in the identity of the Spirit of '76 , Mace in Marvel Mystery Comics # 21 (1941) in the identity of the Patriot .

During the time Steve Rogers was calling himself Nomad , a man named Roscoe Simons , who first appeared in Captain America and the Falcon # 177 (1974), took on the identity of Captain America in issue 181 (1975), but became killed two notebooks later.

In the 1980s, Steve Rogers gave up Captain America's identity again following a disagreement with the US government. As a result, in Captain America # 333 (first series, 1987) , the government named a man named John Walker , who made his first appearance in Captain America # 323 (first series, 1986) in the identity of the Super Patriot , as the new Captain America. In contrast to Steve Rogers, Walker was mentally unstable and was far more brutal against his opponents; this condition was made worse when his parents were murdered in front of his eyes by the Red Skulls agent, who had initiated the change to destroy the reputation of Captain America. In Captain America # 350 (1989), however, the machinations of the Skull were revealed, and Walker eventually ceded the Captain America's identity back to Steve Rogers. Since Captain America # 354, Walker (now also under the pseudonym Jack Daniels ) has been wearing the new identity of the US agent , under the costume that Rogers used as the captain .

In the meantime, the superheroes Hawkeye ( Clint Barton ) and Falcon ( Sam Wilson ), who were friends with Steve Rogers, also wore Captain America's costume when Steve was prevented from attending.

The current wearer of the Captain America costume is James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, the former partner of Steve Rogers. Just like the latter, Bucky made his first appearance in Captain America Comics # 1 (1941). In The Avengers # 4 (first series, 1964) it was revealed that Bucky was killed in an explosion shortly before the end of World War II. However, Captain America # 11 (fifth series, 2005) revealed that the assassin named Winter Soldier , who made his first appearance in issue 1 of the same series (2005), was actually Bucky. According to the author Ed Brubaker, agents of the Soviet Union brought him back to life as a cyborg and brainwashed him. After Steve Rogers had managed to restore his former partner's memories, he took over his identity as Captain America in a slightly different costume after Steve's death in Captain America # 34 (fifth series, 2008). In contrast to Steve Rogers, he also wears a gun with his costume.

Other versions of Steve Rogers as Captain America

Over the years, Marvel has also published numerous stories that do not take place in the “regular” Marvel universe. Captain America has appeared in many of them.

For example, in the 13-part second series entitled Captain America (1996-1997), which appeared as part of the so-called Heroes Reborn series, an alternative version by Steve Rogers could be seen. After the end of the Second World War, he was not involuntarily put into cold sleep as a result of a battle in the Arctic, but instead put into cold sleep on the instructions of US President Harry S. Truman, brainwashed and if necessary , due to his critical attitude towards the atomic bombing on Hiroshima been awakened and sent on missions. In the present story, however, Steve got his memory back and became Captain America and the leader of the Avengers again . Later it turned out, however, that this Steve Rogers was actually the Steve Rogers of the "regular" Marvel universe, who had ended up on a parallel earth together with some other Marvel superheroes in the course of the Marvel crossover Onslaught , where they became superheroes again with changed memories. As part of the Heroes Reborn: The Return (1997) miniseries , Steve and the rest of the Marvel heroes finally returned to their own world with memories restored.

Another alternative version by Steve Rogers has appeared since 2002 as part of the Marvel imprint Ultimate Marvel in the series The Ultimates (German title Die Ultimativen ). The background story of this Captain America is basically identical to that of its counterpart from the "regular" Marvel universe, but in this version Steve is found by the fictional secret service SHIELD in the Arctic and then becomes the leader of the team The Ultimate . He later becomes President of the USA and leads it into a civil war against Hydra. Eventually, while defending Earth against Galactus, he dies in a kamikaze attack on Galactus. His costume also differs somewhat from the usual "classic" costume of Captain America, and Steve Rogers is characterized here as being far more conservative and loyal to the government than his "classic" counterpart. This representation can also be found in Ultimate Avengers - The Movie .

Friends and allies

Captain America's first partner was James Buchanan Barnes , better known as Captain America's junior partner Bucky , who made his first appearance in Captain America Comics # 1 (1941). After the end of the war he was believed to be dead for many years, but he recently returned as a cyborg assassin by the name of Winter Soldier and, following the death of Steve Rogers, now wears the costume of Captain America himself.

Appearances by Bucky in stories from the late 1940s and early 1950s were later reinterpreted in retrospect to mean that other people had worn the costume in the meantime, including a certain Fred Davis and Jack Munroe . The latter later adopted the nomad's costumed identity previously used by Steve Rogers. In addition, Rick Jones, previously introduced as a friend of the Hulk , was briefly seen at the side of Captain America and in the meantime even wore Bucky's costume. In the following years, Rick was in addition to appearances in the Hulk series, a partner of various Marvel heroes named Captain Marvel.

Nick Fury had once fought as a soldier in World War II, occasionally alongside Captain America. He later became the head of the fictional intelligence organization SHIELD and has worked extensively over the years with Captain America, with whom he is friends.

Since The Avengers # 4 (first series, 1964), Captain America, apart from a few brief interruptions, has been a member and mostly also the leader of the superhero team of the same name (The Avengers). Within the team, he has a close friendship in particular with the archer Hawkeye ( Clint Barton ), while differences of opinion often arise with Iron Man ( Tony Stark ) due to different political attitudes. Another superhero friends with Captain America is the Falcon , a former criminal and social worker named Sam Wilson , who in the meantime even shared the title of Captain America's series. In the 1980s, Captain America also befriended the former wrestler Demolition Man aka D-Man , who became more and more unstable over the years.

The Super Patriot , real name John Walker , was originally introduced as a wrestler and opponent of Captain America in the 1980s. Later, at the request of the US government, he wore the costume of Captain America instead of Steve Rogers for a while, but now calls himself a US agent and as such was once the leader of the West Coast Avengers. In contrast to Rogers, Walker takes a far more conservative and less critical attitude towards the government, which is why the two often disagree. Walker's best friend is Lemar Hoskins , who briefly became his partner as Bucky. Meanwhile, Hoskins is called Battlestar and works mostly with the US agent, but less often with Steve Rogers.

At the beginning of the 1990s, author Mark Gruenwald also introduced a German superhero by the name of Hauptmann Deutschland as the German counterpart to Captain America, who stood by the latter in the fight against the Red Skull. However, on the advice of the then German Marvel licensee Condor, Gruenwald changed the name of the character to Guardian at a later appearance .

Captain America's first friends from WWII were a soldier and later FBI agent named Betsy Ross , who later became his brief partner as the Golden Girl , and the Resistance fighter Peggy Carter , who later joined the fictional secret service SHIELD. Later on, Peggy's younger sister (redesignated as "niece" by later stories) Sharon Carter , who was also employed by SHIELD under the code name Agent-13 , was introduced. She has since been in a relationship with Steve Rogers, but has recently been brainwashed and was involved in the assassination attempt on Steve Rogers that eventually led to his death.

Other friends of Captain America from the 1980s were a law student and future attorney named Bernie Rosenthal , who has not appeared in a Marvel story for over ten years, and former villain Diamondback , real name Rachel Leighton , who was originally a member the criminal organization called Serpent Society (Eng. "Snake Empire") and later changed sides out of love for Captain America.

opponent

Captain America's archenemy is the Red Skull , who first appeared in Captain America Comics # 1. Originally, he was an American named George Maxon , who collaborated with the Third Reich and wore a mask in the shape of a red skull. However, later stories ignored the identity as "George Maxon" and turned the Red Skull into an agent of the National Socialists . A story from Tales of Suspense # 65 (1965) finally stated that Maxon was actually a stooge of the "real" Red Skull. The background story of the German Red Skull, that of Adolf Hitler was personally selected for the first time in Tales of Suspense reveals # 66 (1965), while his real name only in Captain America # 300 (first series 1984) with Johann Schmidt was specified . In the same issue, the Red Skull was apparently killed, but returned in a later story. It finally turned out that Johann Schmidt's consciousness had been transferred to a new body, which was a clone of Steve Rogers, so that the Red Skull now has the same physical abilities as this one. Since a fight with John Walker, who in the meantime wore the costume of Captain America, the face of the clone body of the Red Skull has been permanently disfigured into a red skull, which is why he no longer wears a mask.

In the stories from the 1950s, in which Captain America fought against communists instead of Nazis, the Red Skull was also portrayed as a communist. However, author Steve Englehart stated in Captain America and the Falcon # 155 (1972) that this Red Skull was merely an agent of the Soviet Union who had adopted the name of the original Red Skull. The Captain America Annual # 13 (1994) finally gave his name to Albert Malik .

Another recurring opponent of Captain America is Baron Zemo , a former Nazi scientist. The original villain of that name, Heinrich Zemo, made his first appearance in a flashback in The Avengers # 4 (first series, 1964) and was killed fighting Captain America in The Avengers # 15 (1965). He was inherited by his son Helmut Zemo, who made his first appearance in Captain America and the Falcon # 168 (1973). In contrast to his father, Helmut is not a staunch National Socialist, but rather claims world domination because he believes that he can create a better world with dictatorial violence. Both Heinrich and Helmut Zemo were leaders of various teams called Masters of Evil (dt. Lords of Evil ), who mostly fought against the Avengers. Helmut was also the leader of the superhero team called Thunderbolts in the Citizen V identity , which originally served as a camouflage for the lords of evil.

Other "classic" opponents of Captain America are another former Nazi scientist named Arnim Zola (first appearance in Captain America and the Falcon # 208, 1977), the mercenary Batroc the Leaper (first appearance in Tales of Suspense # 75, 1966) , the criminal psychiatrist Dr. Faustus (first appearance in Captain America # 107, first series, 1968) and the terrorist organizations Hydra (first appearance in Strange Tales # 135, 1965, as an opponent of Nick Fury) and Advanced Idea Mechanics , AIM for short (first appearance in Strange Tales # 146, 1966, also as an opponent of Nick Fury). The former leader of Hydra, Viper (formerly Madame Hydra , first appearance in Captain America 110, first series, 1969) is one of the recurring opponents of Captain America, but also appears repeatedly as an opponent in the comic series of the X-Men and theirs Member Wolverine up.

During the Cold War there was also a Soviet counterpart to Captain America, the Red Guardian , whose costume was modeled on the flag of the Soviet Union and which first appeared in The Avengers # 43 (first series, 1967). Just like in the case of Captain America, the Red Guardian's costume was worn by several people, including a woman. Most of them were leaders of the Soviet counterpart of the Avengers, the Soviet Super-Soldiers , or their successor team, the Supreme Soviets , later also known as the People's Protectorate . As part of the détente between the United States and the Soviet Union, Captain America and the Red Guadian and their respective teams fought more often on the same side instead of against each other in later years. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the then Red Guardian changed its name to Steel Guardian , while its team changed its name to Winter Guard . Nonetheless, in later years new characters appeared in Red Guardian costume.

In the 1980s, author Mark Gruenwald led the super villain organization Serpent Society (German snake empire , first appearance in Captain America # 310, first series, 1985, led by the former Thor opponent Cobra ) and the anarchist organization Ultimatum (in Captain America # 321 , first series, 1986) and their leader, the flag smasher (in Captain America # 312, first series, 1985). He also provided the Red Skull with its own super villain team with the Skeleton Crew . Members included Crossbones (first appearance in Captain America # 360, first series, 1989) and Mother Night (first appearance as Suprema in Captain America # 123, first series, 1970). John Walker, who in the meantime wore the costume of Captain America during the 1980s, also repeatedly had to deal with a right-wing radical group called Watchdogs , which made its first appearance in Captain America # 335 (first series, 1987).

Release history

In the USA

The original comic series titled Captain America Comics was published by Timely Comics from 1941 to 1950 and comprised 75 issues, and Captain America also appeared in numerous other series of the publisher. In 1953, Timely's successor Atlas Comics brought back Captain America and had him appear in several issues of the Young Men and Men's Adventures series . In addition, the series Captain America Comics was continued while maintaining the numbering, but discontinued in 1954 after three issues with issue 78 again.

In 1964, Captain America returned in issue 4 of the comic series The Avengers of the Atlas successor Marvel Comics and became one of the main characters in the series. Since the end of 1964, the comic series Tales of Suspense , which also contained stories with Iron Man , began with issue 59 and further new stories with Captain America. In early 1964, the series was then renamed with Book 100 in Captain America , while Iron Man received its own series. From issue 132 (1970) to 222 (1978) the series was titled Captain America and the Falcon , where Captain America shared adventures with a superhero named Falcon. In the summer of 1996 the series - again under the title Captain America - was finally discontinued with issue 454 and replaced by a new series of the same name as part of the Heroes Reborn series, which ran until the end of 1997 and comprised 13 issues. At the beginning of 1998 a new series followed, in which 50 issues were published by the beginning of 2002, another series appeared from mid-2002 to the end of 2004 and comprised 32 issues, and the current series has been published since the turn of 2004/2005.

Marvel also released two other series with Captain America in the title role, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (12 issues, 1998-1999) and Captain America & the Falcon (14 issues, 2004-2005). In addition, Captain America appeared in many editions of the various Avengers comic series (dt. The Avengers ) as the leader of the team and had numerous other guest appearances in the series of other Marvel superheroes and teams.

In Germany

The first story published in Germany with Captain America (then still under the Germanized name Captain America ) appeared in 1967 in issue 14 of the Hit Comics series from Bildschriftenverlag (BSV), which was a reprint of the first four pages of the story from the US issue Tales of Suspense # 78 (first series). The rest of the story was published in Hit Comics # 16 and # 18. Although this was supposed to be the only story with Captain America as the main character that BSV published, he had other appearances in stories from the US series The Avengers , which were also published as part of the hit comics series.

After the publisher was renamed Williams Verlag in 1972, numerous other Marvel comics were published in German, now in separate issue series. Although stories from the series The Avengers (under the German title Die Avengers ) appeared, in which Captain America appeared as the leader of the team, stories with Captain America in the title role were dispensed with. The only exception here is a story from Tales of Suspense # 85 (first series, 1967), which appeared in paperback no. 3 ( The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu , 1976).

The Condor Verlag , which published Marvel Comics in German from 1979, initially limited itself to stories in which Captain America either participated as a member of the Avengers or made guest appearances, such as the Die Avengers comic paperback , which appeared from 1979 . Only in exceptional cases have stories with Captain America in the title role been published in other series, for example in The Spider Comic Paperback , The Incredible Hulk and the Defenders Comic Paperback or The Spider Comic Magazine . Often these stories were part of a multi-part story that ran through issues of several series and therefore necessary for understanding. The stories were also not always published in chronological order. The first Condor publication to feature Captain America as the title character was Marvel Comic Special Issue 13 (1983), which contained stories from the U.S. issues Captain America # 265-266 (first series, 1982), followed by Issue No. 20 (1984). It was not until 1988 that Condor gave Captain America its own series with the four-monthly Captain America comic paperback , which published stories from the US series, more or less seamlessly and in chronological order, starting with US issue # 305 from 1988. The Captain America comic paperback had been published through 1996 a total of 26 issues.

Panini Verlag , which is now part of the US Marvel Group and has had the license for German publications of Marvel Comics since 1996, published the last issues of the first US publications in 1998 under the imprint Marvel Germany in issues 1 and 3 of the Marvel Special series Series, the numbers 445 to 454 (1995-96), in German, with issue 449 omitted for reasons of content. Subsequently, the 13-part series Captain America appeared in 1999 , which contained all 13 issues of the second US series , under the heading Heroes Reborn (German: The rebirth of heroes ). The third US series was published from 2000 as a second story in the series Die Fantastischen Vier (second Panini series), which, however, was discontinued after only ten issues and was replaced by a third series. Captain America then received its own series again from 2001, which now contained stories from four or five US issues each. By the time the series with issue 11 was discontinued in autumn 2002, all 50 issues of the third US series had been reprinted, with the exception of two issues, which - partly for reasons of content - appeared elsewhere in German. A third series appeared on Panini from 2003 and contained stories from the fourth US series, but this time only lasted up to issue 6. Other stories from the fourth and fifth US series appeared from 2005 as part of the 100% Marvel series . Since the beginning of 2008, Panini has released the fourth Captain America series, which contains stories from the fifth US series. Panini also published numerous special editions with Captain America in the title role, which contained material from various US miniseries and special editions, and stories from the various US Avengers series are also regularly published by Panini as part of various publications under the title The Avengers in which Captain America appears as a member or leader of the team. In May 2012 a new series was started with issue # 1.

Captain America as a political comic

Propaganda, political content and social criticism

Second World War

Although the characters Mister America and The Shield from the publishers Detective Comics, Inc. (now DC Comics ) and MLJ (now Archie Comics ) have been superheroes in costumes based on the flag of the United States since 1938 and 1940, respectively . but Captain America is now widely regarded as the “prototype” of the patriotic American hero. His poses often have similarities with Uncle Sam .

Its inventors, Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , who were both of Jewish faith , consciously used the appearance of the costume-wearer Steve Rogers as a strong, good-looking blond American as an alternative to the " Aryan " ideal of the National Socialists .

In keeping with the prevailing zeitgeist at the time of the Second World War, the opponents of the war were often depicted with derogatory features, just like in the other comics by Timely Verlag. The Japanese degenerated into racist caricatures, while soldiers of the German Wehrmacht were ridiculed by exaggerated accents and clumsy behavior. Adolf Hitler's facial features were depicted as distorted as those of a criminal. Captain America's most recurring opponent at the time was a Nazi agent named Red Skull. Its face, which resembled a red skull, should first represent its real face; only in a story from 1965 was the characteristic red skull redefined as a mask.

Just like in the case of the other superheroes of the publisher, the adventures of Captain America at that time were also characterized by an extremely brutal approach against the war opponents of the time, which also corresponded to the zeitgeist. On the other hand, they refrained from condemning the German people as a whole.

Anti-communism

With the end of World War II, the Timely superheroes were deprived of their previous main opponents. Attempts by Timelys to counteract falling sales figures by reorienting the content of the series were not crowned with success. Captain America Comics was one of the last three series to be discontinued in 1949.

In 1953, the publisher, now called Atlas Comics, tried a new edition of the character of Captain America, initially as part of the Young Men and Men's Adventures series and, from 1954, again in its own series, Captain America Comics . Instead of fighting against Nazis, Captain America and his partner Bucky now fought against communists , consequently his archenemy, the Red Skull, suddenly became a communist. As before, Captain America, now advertised as “Commie Smasher”, proceeded with ruthless brutality against his opponents and did not shrink from leaving communist spies to die.

Unlike during the Second World War, these politically tinged stories were so badly received by readers in view of the outcome of the Korean War and the McCarthy era that Atlas discontinued the Captain America Comics series after only three issues.

Vietnam War

When the run now called Marvel Comics publishing Captain America in 1964 as part of the Avengers series (dt. The Avengers ) brought back, too violent representations were both the heroes and their opponents because of the provisions of the Code Comics no longer possible. It is true that Captain America did have to deal with communists as part of the Avengers series, for example in issue 18 (first series, 1965) the team liberated the fictional Asian country Sin-Cong from the oppression by Chinese occupiers; but in his own adventures, which he experienced from issue 59 of the series Tales of Suspense (1964), communists hardly appeared at first. A trip to Vietnam , where Captain America freed a friend from North Vietnamese captivity in issue 61 (1965), remained the exception. Instead, his adventures from issue 64 (1965) took place again at the time of World War II and made him compete against Nazis again. In response to the wishes of the readers, Captain America's adventures started in issue 75 (1966) again in the then present of 1966, but here, too, he initially continued to fight against fictional underground organizations and against his archenemy, the Red Skull, who is now again portrayed as a Nazi has been. Years later, instead of Communists, Nazis continued to be used as opponents in the stories of Captain America.

In the course of a generally changed view of the Vietnam War in the Marvel Comics, it was repeatedly questioned critically in the adventures of Captain America from the early 1970s. Captain America's only foray into the theater of war was in Captain America # 125 (first series, 1970), and his only job here is to rescue a doctor known as a peacemaker. On the other hand, Captain America refrained from interfering in the war. In Captain America and the Falcon # 144 (1971), Captain America's friend, intelligence director and former soldier Nick Fury, also explicitly criticized the decision of then US President Richard Nixon to continue the war. While Captain America himself was more confident, in a scene that followed, an adviser confirmed Nixon's Fury's pessimistic view. In Captain America and the Falcon # 163 (1973), Captain America met a veteran of the Vietnam War whose fate as an invalid made Captain America ponder America's role in that war. A few years earlier, Captain America's origins in World War II had already been reinterpreted in a new version of the story of its origins, which appeared in Captain America # 109 (first series, 1969) to the effect that Steve Rogers was portrayed here as a war-critical pragmatist instead of an unconditional patriot has been.

Watergate

Author Steve Englehart processed the Watergate affair in the form of a metaphor: In the course of a multi-part story, Captain America came up against a conspiratorial underground organization called "Secret Empire", whose leader eventually turned out to be a high-ranking employee of the White House , possibly even the President of the USA itself, turned out to be planning a coup . Before Captain America could hold him accountable for his actions, the man who had just been exposed committed suicide. Thereupon the disaffected Steve Rogers temporarily took off the costume of Captain America and continued to fight the crime for a few issues in a new costume under the name "Nomad".

Englehart originally intended to portray the leader of the Secret Empire as Richard Nixon , but unsure how Marvel would react to the move, he decided to censor himself and withheld the leader's name and face from readers.

The Reagan era

Author J. M. DeMatteis , who wrote the series from 1981 to 1984, originally planned to let Steve Rogers become a pacifist in issue 300 of the series and work for world peace, whereupon the American public turned against him, even calling him "un-American" would have refused. Captain America's enemies would eventually have manipulated Jack Monroe aka Nomad, whereupon he should have shot Steve Rogers. Subsequently, Black Crow, a Native American who had previously appeared on the series, should have become the new Captain America.

DeMatteis himself referred to this idea in retrospect as a "pretty radical idea" for the Reagan era. Although the show's then-editor Mark Gruenwald approved the idea, then-Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter vetoed the story because he believed the story ran counter to the character of the character of Captain America. The story was therefore completely rewritten and DeMatteis left the series.

The time after September 11th

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 , Marvel discontinued the then current Captain America series and replaced it in 2002 with a new series that began again with the number 1. Author John Ney Rieber took up September 11th as a subject, but did not use a one-sided presentation. In the first issue, Captain America protected an American of Arab descent from an angry mob . Rieber let Captain America emphasize that this man was also American.

In the following issues, Captain America dealt with Arab terrorists who carried out attacks in the USA, but in the course of his research it turned out that the weapons and equipment for the terrorists had originally been developed by the American military. Rieber also tried to shed light on the terrorists' motives and criticized the global military and political interference of the USA.

In addition, Rieber also included an ideological discussion between Steve Rogers and a young German about the meaning and expediency of the “ war on terror ” as well as a critical retrospective consideration of the air raids on Dresden and drew parallels to the attacks of September 11th.

However, this critical approach went too far for some conservative critics: In the National Review , Rieber's stories were even assumed to be an unreflective adoption of anti-American propaganda as well as “illegal” and “obscene” ideas.

Implementation and perception in Germany

The fact that the Captain America comics were never particularly successful in Germany is probably due to the fact that American patriotism in Germany tends to meet with incomprehension. The critical echoes of many authors are also often not perceived as such by German readers.

In addition, it was too delicate for many comic publishers to market a hero who fought against the National Socialists . In the television series about Captain America, also broadcast in Germany on RTL , his opponent in World War II is Red Skull, but Nazi symbols (such as the swastika ) are never seen, and when Captain America is brought as a prisoner in front of the "Führer" in one episode , this figure bears no resemblance to Adolf Hitler .

In other media

Actual films

  • The first film adaptation of the comic took place in 1944 as a serial under the title Captain America . However, the context of World War II is completely hidden, and Captain America represents the secret identity of District Attorney Grant Gardner. He and his secretary Gail Richards fight the arch-villain Dr. Maldor; instead of the shield, he uses a pistol.
  • A TV film by Rod Holcomb with Reb Brown as Captain America from 1979 was only released on video cassette in Germany. The sequel Captain America II: Death Too Soon follows in the same year .

Evans also plays the role of Steve Rogers / Captain America in the film Marvel's The Avengers and the sequels Avengers: Age of Ultron as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame , in other films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the series Marvel's Agent Carter Evans has one Guest appearance as Steve Rogers / Captain America. In the first two real-life versions of Iron Man, there are some allusions to the film: For example, Captain America's Vibranium Shield can be seen in both films. In The First Avenger , Iron Man's father, Howard Stark, has a relevant role as a scientist.

TV Shows

In 1966 there was a cartoon television series about the adventures of Steve Rogers / Captain America.

In the animated series New Spider-Man , Red Skull and Captain America were temporarily trapped in a kind of time bubble. This was destroyed in a series of events and with the help of SHIELD, Spider-Man , the Kingpin and his henchmen (Shocker, Scorpion etc.).

In this series, Captain America later fought alongside Spider-Man on a distant planet that serves as a kind of chessboard between good and evil. They fought there together with Iron Man , Storm , the Fantastic Four and the Black Cat (in the English original: "Black Cat"), who also received superhuman powers from a later reconstructed super soldier serum, against Doctor Octopus , Red Skull , Doctor Doom and the Lizard .

In the animated series The Ultimate Spider-Man , Steve Rogers is a supporting character.

Others

The chopper , which the by Peter Fonda illustrated Figure Wyatt in the film Easy Rider drives (1969) is named after Captain America, and the Stars and Stripes design of the bike is like that of Captain America modeled flag us of.

In the film Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger , the film adaptation of the novel Manhunt by Stephen King , reference is also made to the name "Captain America".

Captain America is the fighting name of the American mixed martial fighter Randy Couture .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Andreas Borcholte: Patriot to death , Spiegel online , March 8, 2007. Accessed June 17, 2008.
  2. ↑ Chris Kokenes: Captain America, thought dead, comes back to life. In: cnn.com. June 15, 2009, accessed September 18, 2014 .
  3. ^ Paul Montgomery: It's Time for An All-New Captain America. In: marvel.com. Marvel, July 16, 2014, accessed September 18, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Captain America 153–167 , official site of Steve Englehart. Accessed June 17, 2008.
  5. ↑ a b c d The Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators German Edition , Maxithecat.de. Accessed June 17, 2008.
  6. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard: Ideology and Propaganda in the Marvel Superhero Comics. From the Cold War to the policy of détente. Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1992. ISBN 3-631-44460-5 . P. 10.
  7. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 48.
  8. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 45.
  9. ↑ a b Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). Pp. 52-53.
  10. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 130.
  11. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 47.
  12. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). Pp. 54-55.
  13. ↑ a b Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). Pp. 70-73.
  14. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 137.
  15. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 107.
  16. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 112.
  17. ↑ a b Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 171.
  18. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 179.
  19. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 193.
  20. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 229.
  21. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 243.
  22. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). Pp. 232-233.
  23. ↑ Schweizer, Reinhard (ibid.). P. 206.
  24. ↑ Captain America and the Falcon # 169-176 , official site of Steve Englehart. Accessed December 4, 2009.
  25. ↑ Brian Cronin: Comic Book Urban Legends Revealed # 94. In: Comic BooK Resources on March 15, 2007. Accessed January 9, 2010.
  26. ↑ Michael Medved: "Captain America, Traitor?" ( Memento of the original from June 26, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , National Review Online, April 4, 2003. Accessed December 5, 2009. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nationalreview.com
  27. ↑ Captain America: Chris Evans plays the title hero ( Memento of the original from March 26, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.widescreen-vision.de
  28. ↑ Captain America (1966) in the Internet Movie Database (English)